A lot of users have been noticing lately that it takes forever to download games and movies during the day. This is because Newgrounds has become so darn popular that we are using up insane amounts of bandwidth! And this is without any recent press coverage!
Our problems used to be hardware-related, but since we bought new servers, we have been able to accomodate more users. We are currently serving more than one million Portal view pages EVERY DAY! We are constantly consuming our 100mbps line - that is the equivalent to two T3s. We are even doing it during off-peak hours!
We don't want to discourage people from submitting movies to NG or anything like that. The only thing I can recommend is that authors try REALLY HARD to minimize their file sizes. If your Flash movie uses full-length songs, try replacing them with some royalty-free music from the Newgrounds Audio Archives.
We may have to hold back on showcasing large submissions until we get more bandwidth. "Link's Quest For Ass 2" is a hilarious movie, and has been extremely popular, but I removed it from the frontpage today because it was almost five megs. It isn't anyones fault - it is just our bandwidth limitations. You can still find it in the Zelda collection if you want to watch it. The frontpage draws too much of a crowd. :)
We are working on doubling our current bandwidth with the addition of a second 100mbps pipe. This might not be ready until April, although I hope to have it done as soon as possible. Until then, try visiting the site during the early morning and late evening for the best results!
And joy of joys! Has anyone noticed that we don't have nearly as many pop-ups as we used to? ;)